I put myself through college, working through college while also accumulating students loans for which I repaid my debt over a 10 year period. One of the things that I always recognized, and was actually reinforced in a meeting with then Dean of Students, was that I effectively entered into a business agreement whereby I received an education in return for an agreed upon sum of money. The university I attended did not guarantee that I would get a job when I graduated, although there was a graduate placement office that was available to help one's job search.
The government has become more involved in requiring college admissions based upon criteria other than scholastic aptitude. Additionally, the colleges have no "pain" for accepting students that are not academically competitive, or to eliminate curricula and degrees that do not offer real career pathways. Remember that colleges don't "own" the student loans and thus don't feel any negative impact from student loan default.
John Grisham wrote about this very scenario in his book, "The Rooster Bar" published in 2017. Here is a link to an excerpt of the book for those who may not have read it, or don't tend to read Grisham's books.
Link to The Rooster Bar excerpt.
I believe that there needs to be introspection by several parties, be it the loan borrower, the universities, and not in the least, the government which helped to enable this quagmire. Yeah, I know, I won't hold my breath. I have a better chance finding "magic pixie dust" that will fix this problem.